


Choices and Confessions

by dmux86



Series: One Wrong Kiss... More Then One Path Forward [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Betty Cooper Loves Jughead Jones, F/M, Gen, I might have found the upside at least for one ship, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Jughead Jones Loves Betty Cooper, Not Beta Read, references to barchie, riverdale speculation, riverdale spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:08:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23576686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dmux86/pseuds/dmux86
Summary: So in the process of writing the very angsty version of what seems to be on the horizon I realized that there's one way... and pretty much only one way IMO... forward for Bughead and did my best to write it down.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge (past), Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Series: One Wrong Kiss... More Then One Path Forward [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697050
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Choices and Confessions

It had been two days and about nineteen hours since she had screwed up royally, and now she was in the library with Jughead, notes and homework assignments scattered over the table but her mind was entirely on something else, or really several overlapping somethings.

Should she tell Juggie?

Should they break up?

Should she get with Archie?

Would V ever even speak to her again? 

As much as it hurt to admit it even in her own mind while Jughead was right there, she had enjoyed the kiss, enjoyed singing with her oldest friend, and seemingly out of nowhere all the old feelings she thought were dead and buried had bubbled up and she felt like absolute shit. 

There simply was no path forward that didn't involve breaking hearts and ruining friendships and relationships built since childhood.

But even as she felt her old crush on Archie, she looked across the table at the dark haired boy proudly wearing the beanie she had made and she knew she couldn't give him up for what she and Archie might have. The redhead was flaky at best, and was unlikely to ever leave Riverdale long-term and certainly was not going to Yale in four months. They could have been a high school power couple like she suggested so long ago, but after everything that had happened since the start of Sophomore year she knew in her bones that Jug was her soulmate, her future, the man whose name and children she wanted. 

And if she wanted that she had to come clean. The lie of not telling him about the kiss would eat away at her, poisoning their future. Yet at the same time, telling her boyfriend that his best friend had kissed his girlfriend would destroy the bond between the three of them no matter how it turned out. 

Betty shook her head, resisting the urge to clench her fists instead, and focused on the studying they were doing until Juggie's stomach growled and she smiled, asking him "Pop's or want to see if there's food at home?" 

"Pops, of course. I did not suffer that much brain damage from the rock" he says with eye roll and smirk and she couldn't help but lightly shove his shoulder and mutter "Still too soon" as they packed up their bags and headed for the door, just in time to see Archie walk in with red eyes and a slight frown.

"Hey Arch, are you lost?" Jug teases, but then stops as he fully takes in the expression on his brother's face and quickly adds "Wait, what's wrong?" 

The big brown eyes glancing at her made her heart race... and not in the good way it had done the past few days and she made a show of taking her boyfriend's arm and leaning into him, silently warning Archie not to say anything he shouldn't. His brows furrowed but he rubbed the back of his neck and said "I um, well I broke up with Ronnie. We'd been fighting about the future and things and it just, it wasn't going to work after... ", making Betty freeze again but it ended with "after everything I guess. But I still need to study, so... here I am" 

Betty nodded, wondering if he had told his girlfriend everything, if her best friend already hated her or if she would have to be the one to tell her the truth.

Either way she couldn't wait any longer to tell Jughead and so she said "I'm... I'm so sorry but we're on our way to eat. I'll um... get with V later" as she started walking forward, past Archie's slightly worried face and over Jughead's confused expression. 

Just as they reached the door she heard her next-door neighbor say "Thanks Betty. I will talk to you later", feeling his eyes on her and knowing what he really meant and didn't acknowledge it, all but dragging Jughead outside and down the sidewalk towards their favorite diner.

'Just get it over with Betty' she thought to herself, turning down a side street that was quiet and rarely used and then coming to a stop under a tree where she turned to face her boyfriend and took one long breath before saying "Juggie, we need to talk" 

She could see the fear and confusion in his face immediately and knew this was going to be bad, and she had to get it all out as quickly as possible, "You need to listen to me, if you... I know you'll have questions or a reaction but just... let me say this, alright?"

He nodded, swallowing as his eyes fixed on hers, pleading for both the truth and good news... and she could only give him one of those things.

"Archie and I kissed. Not just for the whole fake death thing. After... after you came back we kissed for real" she said and could literally see his heart break and his flight instinct kicking in all at once and she grabbed his hands and squeezed as she begged and quickly added "Please just... wait.... please. We kissed and it... it made me wonder what-if and suddenly everything I had let go of seemed to come back only this time Archie felt it too"

By now he was recoiling, wanting the conversation to end as he looked away but she carried on "I think that's why Archie broke up with V" and now he interrupted "So it finally is happening huh?", his voice cold and distant, her eyes watering at the tone but she added quickly "He might think so but he's wrong. Listen to me Juggie, please, just for a moment longer and then decide what you want. He wants me now... and part of me wants him... but I want you more. I choose you Jughead Jones. Archie has changed his mind and I am so sorry for what I did but I chose you, not him"

She blinked away the tears and let go of him, stepping back and biting her lip, watching him and trying to catch every subtle expression as he processed that.

"You cheated on me. With Archie" he said, flat and almost clinical, clearly forcing his emotions aside. 

She nodded, tears spilling over but she said once again "I know it was wrong and I can never make it up to you Juggie... ", pleading but not daring to touch him this time. 

He looked away, out into the distance at nothing, mulling it all over for a solid minute. 

"He's single now. You two kissed. If you walked back to the library right now... " he said, somehow making a question out of that as his eyes finally met hers.

"Yeah, pretty much. But I won't, even if you say you need space or... or... that you can't forgive me. I won't go to him" she declared without a second thought even as her heart broke at the idea of him walking away even though he had every right to do so.

He breathed out once and asked, softly but with just a hint of anger only she could see "And if I said you can't hang out with him anymore, at least till we leave for Yale. Would you agree with that?" 

Part of her wanted to say no, to say that was too much, too harsh on their oldest friend not to mention being far too controlling of her. But she could see his doubts and nodded quickly, ponytail bouncing.

His hand reached out and took hers, squeezing once even as he said, voice thick with a mix of emotions "I'm not happy, and I'm not going to be able to forget about this anytime soon. But I'm not saying goodbye"

They resumed walking to Pops, quiet and both thinking about everything that had happened and how close they came to losing each other as well. For now there was a vague distance between them but she already knew that this would just be another support holding them up in the future.


End file.
